


After the Aftermath

by fandomgeek14



Series: Running in the Zombie Apocalypse [2]
Category: Zombies Run!
Genre: 5am, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, Fluff and Angst, I Tried, I have a fic idea for My New Canton Runner 5, I swear, I’m going to write a fic without the Angst next time, Maybe - Freeform, Pre-Relationship, S1 spoilers, Sorry it’s not very good, Teen and up just to be safe, also I have an idea for a study in Ichor 5am fic, anyway enjoy reading this (hopefully), autistic Runner 5, but I don’t know how to write them, but I’m struggling to write it!, but they’re too oblivious to notice, damn writers block, disabled Runner 5, ive got so many Zombies run fics ideas, s1M23: aftermath, sam and five are in love, sara is mentioned, selective mute Runner 5, set between S1 & S2, who is related to my Runner 5
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-04
Updated: 2020-08-04
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:48:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,442
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25712335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fandomgeek14/pseuds/fandomgeek14
Summary: Five is safe in New Canton but she’d be safer with her best friend Sam. Unfortunately like just like Schrödinger's cat, she doesn’t know whether he’s dead or alive.Thankfully, she gets an answer to that question after a week of waiting when negotiations at New Canton calls for back up.
Relationships: Runner Five & Everyone, Runner Five & Sam Yao, Runner Five/Sam Yao
Series: Running in the Zombie Apocalypse [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1865143
Kudos: 3





	After the Aftermath

**Author's Note:**

> Hi just thought I’d point out a few things on here:  
> Firstly I head cannon that Sam is around 23 in season 1/ early S2. Makes sense since he said in A Voice in The Dark that he was a fourth year uni student when the apocalypse hit. Usually students are around 22/23 in the U.K. if they’re in their fourth year (although you could be older depending on how old you were when you started uni). My runner 5 is 21 in Season 1.  
> Secondly, My Runner 5 is disabled with cerebral palsy (Specifically with Left side Hemiplegia- her left hand and leg doesn’t function as well as her right) and is also autistic. Both are referenced but not explicitly.  
> Anyway hope you enjoy reading this (sorry if it’s not that good) 😊

**“Five** **, take a look here. That’s what I think it is, isn’t it? I’m not imagining what they’re carrying”**

_** “W-where did they get that? How did they get that?”  ** _

_** “ Runner Five here agrees. They’ve got a rocket launcher! I guess we know who left that out in the wilderness .” ** _

_** “Okay…”  ** _

_** “Oh, holy Mary mother of God, run!” ** _

_** “SAM!” ** _

Five woke up in a strange bunk with a start and sat up, gripping her sheets with a balled, sweaty fist, trying not to stop the tears. It had been a week since the explosion at Abel township that had caused her to join New Canton as a refugee. Of course, she had no choice in the matter whilst Abel Township was being rebuilt, and technically, she wasn’t part of New Canton, she was just, well, there.

She missed Abel. 

_Really_ missed it. 

She’d had no news from Major De Santa on the other survivors. Or if there even was. No news for a few days, except stupid diplomatic meetings that she had to attend for negotiations about an alliance. Not that she was any help, back to square one with her being unable to speak.

She’d been able to speak with Sam, he’d been one of the few people who she was able to talk too. Him and her D&D group (plus Janine), but it came easiest with Sam, he understood her, and even could tell exactly what she was thinking or even speak for her at certain pointswhen she shut down. 

But now Sam was gone. 

She didn’t know whether any of her friends, Sara, Janine, Jody, Eugene and Jack, hell even Simon who she wasn’t that close too yet, had made it out of the explosion or the aftermath. And nobody would tell her anything! Bloody New Canton we’re refusing to tell her anything until she’d built up their trust and she couldn’t physically talk to Major De Santa to find out if they were alright. 

The worst of all was Sam. 

_Amazing, Fantastic, Funny, kind, Communications operator Sam Yao._

Her best friend, Sam Yao, who she just so happened to realise that she’d developed a major crush on (inappropriate as it was) after he quoted her favourite comedy show after bitten New Canton Runner 38, Lem, repaid her for trying to save his life by saving hers and leading a bunch of Zombies away from her.  


She didn’t know whether Sam was dead or alive and it was ripping her to pieces. It was an actual probability that she’d never hear Sam’s voice again, that she’d never see him smile at her with a big grin that made her heart leap every time she’d enter communications after a run. She’d never get to tell him how she really felt about him. Not that she would do that now anyway if he was alive, she was too, well, anxious to do that kind of thing, but she thought that eventually, after years of building up courage, she’d tell him. Now she’d never get that chance. 

“Abel Runner, the Major’s here for negotiations, and she’s apparently brought some people of interest to you” Nadia said over the comms system, Five wiped her eyes, got out of bed, pulled on some fresh clothes along with her red zipper hoodie and left the room with a sigh.

Today was going to be a long day. 

Five shuffled into the courtyard of New Canton, her trainers scuffing from the gravel on the ground as she tried to avoid the stares from the residents. Most them were pitying, nobody would wish to be separated from the place yet call home in the apocalypse, even if they did hate you because of the settlement you live in but some of them were giving her looks of suspicion, which were unnerving although she didn’t blame them. 

Negotiations with New Canton had had mixed views, some people believed that Abel should just join New Canton now that they were effectively destroyed rather than rebuilding the settlement, others believed that the conflict had run its course and that New Canton should make amends with Abel since it was their fault in the first place they were attacked, Five was of the view that it wasn’t New Canton’s fault explicitly, they were only saving their own skin, after all her and Sara had done a similar thing, directing the Zoms over to New Canton in her first run out after arriving at Abel and that working together they’d spend a better chance of surviving the apocalypse, but apparently that view wasn’t too popular with the residents, apparently working with Abel township was some people’s worst nightmares so Five had learned to keep her head down in this place. 

She looked up as she neared the front of the courtyard, to find a crowd of people clearly interested in what was going on, blocking her way to Major De Santa.

She sighed. She hated large crowds, it was always too noisy and too tight spaced with crowds and it would often send her into a sensory overload before the apocalypse But now, having being forced to find a way to cope with the sensory thing, it was more an annoyance. She covered her ears (or as best she could with her left side with her left hand) and taking a deep breath entered the crowd, pushing her way to the front. 

“Ah Runner Five, it’s nice to see you” Major De Santa said immediately as the runner reached the end of her claustrophobic pathway “ready for another day of negotiations? I’ve brought along some of the survivors of Abel to help you out they’re just getting checked out by New Canton security” 

_Survivors? So there were people who survived the Rocket Launcher! Or the Zombie attack following it!Not everyone died!_ Well now at least she no longer had to contend with being the only person except The Major who made it out of there anymore.

Five nodded, letting The Major know that she understood and Major De Santa despite her tough demeanour smiled in acknowledgement of the understanding nature, before turning to the New Canton advisory council to talk to them. Five, on the other hand, craned her neck toward the gate, trying to see who Major De Santa had brought with her, but, it was near impossible to see with the guards blocking her view.  
_Who would the Major bring to negotiate with New Canton? Runner 8? She was military right? Before the apocalypse? No, Sara to the best of her knowledge was dead, Zombie bite. Janine? It’s entirely possible, if she survived the explosion, it would make logical sense._ _Argh. If only she was able to get a better look!_

She hated both New Canton and the Major for not telling her anything about who survived the blast, especially when they’re talking about her friends survival! 

“-They’ll be shown the way to the meeting” one of the advisory council members, reassured the the Major “so, shall we get this meeting under weigh?”

nodding to Nadia, who had come down from their comms shack and the other council members, in agreement, the Major turned in the direction of the council and followed them, beckoning Five to follow her.

“Come on Runner Five, you’ll see your friends once they’re sorted” 

Five turned followed without another word. Despite being frustrated at her for being too secretive surrounding who had survived, she wasn’t going to argue with the Major, she looked like a scary person to argue with if you dared, worse than Janine, and Janine was terrifying if you argued with her or asked stupid questions about ice cream rolls.

The group passed the guards at the gate, and Five resisted the urge to turn her head and try another attempt at seeing what was going on. She had to get her head in the space for listening and making notes to help her discuss the alliance, or any other negotiation, in the room today. 

_ God, she wished Sam was there to help her out.  _

“...Five?” 

Oh great, now she was hallucinating Sam’s voice. Fantastic! She didn’t need grief and worry at the likelihood of her best friend being dead to come to the surface today, come on Five, stop being ridiculous and focus.

But then she heard it again, this time as a yell that seemed to come from the group of guards.

“Sorry, sorry... no I haven’t been bitten...excuse me....FIVE!”

Five looked towards the gates, confused, only to catch a glimpse of a orange hoodie clinging askew off the top half belonging a kind and very familiar face. 

Five blinked,frozen in her spot for what seemed like hours, before finally a noise came out of her throat, a small one worded question. 

“S-Sam?”

Five’s legs started moving as soon as the word left her lips, she wasn’t running, but walking, stumbling to meet the her best friend and crush she thought probably hadn’t made it, in the middle of the courtyard, and it wasn’t long before she threw the arms around the neck of the comms operator of Abel Township and in was enveloped in the warm orange fabric of his hoodie, the smell of smoke from a week ago still clinging to it mixed in with Sam’s scent, filled her nostrils and she instantly felt safe again. 

“Sam” she sniffed “are you okay?”

“I’m alright, I walked away from the explosion like David Tennant in Voyage of the Damned” the 23 year old man joked causing the younger woman to laugh 

“Hey! Making references to Doctor Who or Red Dwarf is my job!”

Sam laughed and pulled away from her, finally lookimg at her properly, his dark eyes scanning her face as if he was committing this moment to his memory. 

“You look awful” He commented

“Thanks” 

well, I mean, you don’t look awful, you look, great, in fact, and alive, it’s just what happened to your face?” Sam pointed out the large cut on her forehead and her cut lip that was starting to scab over “wait, no I didn’t mean it like that I meant-“ he stumbled over his words from embarrassment 

“It’s fine Sam, I’m fine” she laughed “I got caught in the blast of the rocket launcher, hit my head but it’s not too deep or infected, with zombie stuff or otherwise”

Sam smiled in relief, his gaze not leaving her face despite the council waiting for them to get on with the meeting. Or his other friends gathering behind them, and ignoring the murmurs of 

‘The Abel Runner’s talking’ and ‘wait, she can talk?’ however, it wasn’t long before tears started to collect in his eyes and he was unable keep them down any longer. 

“Argh, Sorry” he sniffed drying his eyes with his sleeve

“Hey, I’m okay, you’re okay” Five smiled trying not to start crying with him, trying to cheer up her best friend, she guided one of his hands up to her face, she hadn’t thought that was something only a thing couples do, or the fact that he didn’t pull his hand away from her when she took it and put it to her face “come on Sam, see? I’m alright” 

“Five... I thought you were dead! When the Major said you’d been taken to New Canton- I didn’t know what they’d do to you- I thought-“

“Sam, I’m not dead, I’m not a zombie, I’m not a Member of New Canton”Five reassured him, as she pulled him back into another tight hug 

“I know, I’m glad you’re okay”

“This week’s been like Schrödinger's cat in real life” 

Sam laughed “at least we have an answer now”

“Yeah, and it’s the best answer I could have gotten” 

Five smiled once more as she rested her chin on his shoulder, completely unaware of Sam’s love sick expression behind her. 

“Hey lovebird Yao, are you going to keep Five to yourself or can we say how bloody grateful we are that she’s alive before we have to go into the meeting and things get serious?” Runner 3’s voice rang out teasingly, and Five looked up to see the faces of some of the other survivors of the blast, Runner 3- Simon Lauchlan, Runner 4- Jody Marsh, Runner 7-Evan Deaubl and Janine De Luca stood there with a mix of expressions on their faces. 

Sam let go of Five immediately

“Sorry” Five apologised as she headed over to the group a big smile growing onto her face “and we’re not ‘lovebirds’, Five’s my friend that’s all” Sam explained defensively as he followed Five over. 

“It’s good to see you Runner Five” Janine nodded at Five

“Yeah, we’re all alive, no thanks to you, you disappeared on us” Simon said “also I didn’t know you could speak” 

“selective mutism” Sam replied for Five who had once again gone quiet “she can’t speak in certain situations”.

“We thought both you and Runner 8 had been bitten for a while, until the Major confirmed you were at New Canton” Evan explained to Five

“That doesn’t matter, Runner Five’s alive!” Jody exclaimed pulling Five into a third tight hug “sorry” 

Five smiled the biggest smile she’d had in months, her friends, or at least some of them, were alive and well and, not zombified! Some of the guilt and anxiety had been lifted off her in an instant but again, it wasn’t long until the elated feeling of knowing that she wasn’t the only survivor of the place was shifted to seriousness when she remembered why they were here in the first place. 

The meeting. 

The others seemed to have the same thought as they noticed the New Canton council and The Major watching them waiting. 

Janine took the first step forwards, followed by Simon with a sigh and a “let’s get this over with” followed by Janine’s “it’s necessary for survival” comment. Then Jody and Evan started heading in the direction. 

Sam, stopped and waited for Five

“Come on Five, I managed to save half a pack of Jammie Dodgers and two curly Wirley’s in the blast and I think this is cause for a proper celebration between friends” He smiled as Five approached “what do you say Five?” 

She smiled and slid her hand into his, he tensed up a little at the surprise hand holding, before relaxing into her touch. 

“I missed you Sam” 

“I missed you too Five”

And hand in hand, the comms operator and the Abel township runner, followed the test of their friends and new potential allies, ready to face what the future held.


End file.
